Chapter 30: Use Mana
A new blue screen popped up right in his face. It had info about his mana core, the thing that had just caused him so much damn pain.
[Mana Core Established: Grade C (Upgradeable)]
[Current Capacity: 50/50 MP]
[Mana Regeneration: 1 MP per 5 minutes (Increases with Endurance & Core Grade)]
[Elemental Affinity: None (Neutral Core)]
Nox read it over. ’Grade C, huh? So, not the best, but it says upgradeable. That’s something, I guess.’ He saw that his mana would come back, but slowly. ’One point every five minutes? That’s slow as hell. Better than nothing, though.’
He was super tired. His whole body just wanted to quit, to pass out and forget everything. But he wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. ’Got this new mana thing, might as well see what it does. Can’t just sit here.’
He tried to use that Lesser Mana Weaving skill he’d gotten from Auraelia. He focused, trying to pull in the mana he could now feel in the air around him. It felt weird, like trying to breathe underwater but not actually drowning. He tried to get it to go into his new core, to fill it up or something.
Just when he thought he was maybe getting the hang of it, he felt something else. Or, more like, he heard something. Footsteps. Close. And getting closer. They weren’t trying to be quiet.
’Crap, someone’s coming,’ he thought. ’Probably heard the gunshot from earlier when I shot my leg. Took them long enough to find me.’
The footsteps were in the building now, heavy. Sounded like more than one person. He tried to push himself up, to get ready for whatever. But his leg, the one he’d blasted a hole in, just screamed at him with a fresh wave of pain. The world tilted sideways for a second, and he went down again, landing hard on his side with a grunt.